Ga. Supreme Court upholds Macon lawyer contempt charge

The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a trial court judge's decision that held a Macon lawyer in contempt of court.

The decision stems from a murder case where Veronica Brinson was hired to represent Frank Reeves, who was accused of killing a woman at a gas station.

During that trial, Judge Howard Z. Simms said that Brinson made several mistakes including missing crucial deadlines for her client.

Simms eventually filed an order to appoint a public defender for Reeves and remove Brinson as counsel. It was later found that Brinson went against that order and continued to file documents on Reeves' behalf.

For disregarding the order she was found in contempt of court and was sentenced to 12 days in jail, but a different judge said that the jail time would be suspended if she paid $750 in fines.

Brinson successfully appealed the decision and the case went to the state's highest court.

On Oct. 3, the Georgia Supreme Court agreed with the lower court's decision.